‘Alphas: The Unusual Suspects’ Episode 110 – Recap

This is the moment that everybody on the team has been secretly dreading. DOD agents show up and tranquilize everybody one by one, shipping them off to Binghamton. Even though he is not an Alpha himself, Rosen is taken as well. Agent Cleigh, the darker half of the DOD liaison team, has ordered their capture. If you haven’t watched the episode yet, then just be aware that this recap does contain spoilers.

Interrogating the team one at a time, and using his own Alpha, a man named Eric Latrobe who can read microfacial expressions, Cleigh reveals that there is a traitor somewhere on the team. Somebody has been feeding information to Red Flag regarding the cold war program MK Ultra, a psi-ops program that is credited with creating Alphas in the first place. The surviving members of MK Ultra have been assassinated, and Cleigh is determined to find the Red Flag informant on Rosen’s team.

As the interrogations continue, we learn just how fractured and disillusioned with the DOD Rosen’s team has become. Cameron has already been a victim of Red Flag mind control, Nina has always preferred to operate on her own, Bill was approached by the mercenary Griffin last week, and the big reveal is that Gary is still in communication with Anna, the leader of Red Flag. While Gary insists that they simply talk about superficial topics as friends, it’s still a pretty big deal.

Feeding Rachel a secret door code, Rosen is able to orchestrate a breakout. Locking themselves in a warehouse, the team start to argue among themselves to try to determine who the mole is. Rosen suddenly informs the team that he knows who the mole is, and that he wants them to step forward. When nobody does, he singles out Cameron, citing mysterious transfers to his bank account. Bill, who seems to have less control over amping up since he regained his ability, flies into a rage and tries to beat down Cameron.

In the chaos, Cleigh is able to track them down, but Rosen escapes with Gary and takes him back to the office. It quickly is revealed that Rosen is not Rosen. He is an Alpha with the ability to change his appearance, but it’s difficult and his hold on Rosen’s face is beginning to slip. Cleigh catches up to them, and they take the Alpha off to Binghamton’s dreaded Building Seven.

Cleigh and the real Rosen have a very frank discussion about what happened, and how Cleigh has set a very dangerous precedent by grabbing and imprisoning the entire team based on a suspicion. Trying to extend a bit of an olive branch, Cleigh offers to let Eric out on a limited basis to be a part of Rosen’s team. But the dangerous thing is that Red Flag has targeted Rosen, and it’s only a matter of time before they do it again. And with the team more wary of the government than ever, things could go downhill very quickly. The episode ends with Bill finally collapsing from all of his amping up. He has lost control of his ability, and it is now killing him.

This was a little bit of a disappointment with all the buildup of a possible mole in the team, and the very real and plausible motives and explanations for it. It would have been a really interesting twist if it turned out that one of the team members actually was working for Red Flag. Instead, it turns out to just be an impostor infiltrator and that nobody on the team is really guilty of anything.

While ‘Alphas’ has been steadily building over this first season, this was an episode that had a lot of promise and a great mystery that ended with a bit of a cop out. Still, the development of the team thus far has been very well done. Every character has become progressively more interesting and fleshed out. With next week being the season finale, I’m hoping that this season can end on a high note and lead into the next with a good hook.

Josh Rubinstein

Born a scant few months before a little movie called “Star Wars” hit the big screen, Josh was destined to be a sci-fi fan. Raised in a suburb of Philadelphia with a geeky family, Josh has never known a time when shows like “Star Trek” and “The Twilight Zone” were not a part of his life. As he grew up, his tastes expanded into fantasy, horror and any genre that held potential for great stories. Having dreams of being a writer and director, he studied film at Temple University. In 2001, he took the plunge and moved to Los Angeles with a few thousand dollars, precious few contacts and a dream. He soon crossed paths with the growing fan community for “The Lord of the Rings” and lucked into a job working in DVD which has since blossomed into an award-winning career. Organizing events for the Ringer community, he has become a fixture in local geek culture. His work in DVD has given him the opportunity to work with many of his favorite franchises like “Star Trek,” “Farscape,” “Stargate SG-1,” “Cowboy Bebop,” and “Highlander” to name a few. Never giving up on his dream of being a writer, he published his first novel in 2004. In 2008, his DVD work won him a Saturn Award. Josh still loves exploring the nooks and crannies of Los Angeles that cater specifically to the sci-fi/fantasy geek and considers himself a “geek adventurer.” While he has accomplished many of his dreams, he still unironically hopes to one day go into space.